I used to hate salad. The very word was synonymous with “diet” to me, which meant unappetizing, not filling or satisfying, and basically akin to starvation. What a turnaround I’ve experienced over the last 5 months! I love salad now, because I know what a real salad should look like! I used to make salad by ripping up some pieces of iceberg lettuce and pouring a gallon of Wishbone Italian dressing on top. No wonder I didn’t like it! The salad I’ve pictured above was my lunch today. It consists of romaine lettuce, red cabbage, carrots, tomatoes, diced red peppers, kidney beans, sliced avocado, and raw sunflower seeds, with just the tiniest drizzle of dressing, and it was so good.

I am trying to incorporate the “Eat to Live” mantra of “The Salad is the Main Dish” into my nutritional lifestyle. So often, salad is the side dish or afterthought. I also love that my children are seeing me eat salads everyday; they learn from our example.

A few tips for salads:

Make a salad your main meal at least once a day.

Use a large bowl–it encourages you to fill it. A cereal bowl is not large enough to hold a salad that is the proper size.

Try to incorporate at least 5 oz of leafy greens as the bed of the salad–spinach, romaine lettuce, arugala, etc.

Try to add color–reds, yellows, oranges, etc.

Add beans or nuts to make it even more filling.

Thoroughly chew the greens to maximize the amount of nutrients you’re making accessible to your body.

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Faster than a speeding couch potato! Able to leap the produce aisle in a single bound! Welcome to Super Veggie Mom, which chronicles my efforts to raise a plant-strong, creative, and bright family while pursuing my own writing and fitness interests.